Be among the first to browse and download our new birds and natural history catalog!

Of particular interest is TheWarbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. Warblers are among the most challenging birds to identify. They exhibit an array of seasonal plumages and have distinctive yet oft-confused calls and songs. The Warbler Guide enables you to quickly identify any of the 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada. This groundbreaking guide features more than 1,000 stunning color photos, extensive species accounts with multiple viewing angles, and an entirely new system of vocalization analysis that helps you distinguish songs and calls.

Also be sure to note Rare Birds of North America by Steve N. G. Howell, Ian Lewington, and Will Russell. This is the first comprehensive illustrated guide to the vagrant birds that occur throughout the United States and Canada. Featuring 275 stunning color plates, this book covers 262 species originating from three very different regions—the Old World, the New World tropics, and the world’s oceans.

And don’t miss out on our forthcoming BirdGenie™ app. BirdGenie is a remarkable app that enables anyone with a supported Apple® or Android® smartphone or tablet to identify birds in the backyard, at the local park, or on the nature trail—all with the tap of a button! It’s like Shazam® for nature—just hold up your phone, record the bird singing, and BirdGenie tells you what bird it is!

More of our leading titles in birds and natural history can be found in the catalog. You may also sign up with ease to be notified of forthcoming titles at http://press.princeton.edu/subscribe/. (Your e-mail address will remain confidential!)

As the countdown to the thaw of spring begins, over 200 species of birds are gearing up for their annual, epic journey. Some will clock 10,000 miles on their way back to the United States and Canada from the balmy climates of regions further south. Although birds are on the move nearly every day, this period of Neotropical migration is the most predictable time for movement, and volunteer birders across the country will take to the outdoors to count the traveling birds. In preparation for the return of these raptors, songbirds, and shorebirds, Princeton University Press brings you four essential birding guides.

In both The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds and The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors,acclaimed photographer and birder Richard Crossley has introduced a new way to not only look at birds, but to truly see them. With a highly visual approach which emphasizes shape, size, and habitat through carefully designed scenes in which multiple birds of different sexes, ages, and plumages interact with realistic habitats, the birder can better grasp the characteristics of each species. Unlike other guides which provide isolated individual photographs or illustrations, these books feature large, lifelike scenes for each species, in order to bring a more practical approach to bird identification. There are also comparative, multispecies scenes and mystery photographs that allow readers to test their identification skills, along with answers and full explanations in the back of the book. Begin reading the Introduction of The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds and the Introduction of The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors now.

With the hope of aiding birders in identifying one of the trickiest species, Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle have created The Warbler Guide, in which the two experts offer a comprehensive look at the 56 species of warblers found in the U.S. and Canada. This groundbreaking guide features more than 1,000 stunning color photos, extensive species accounts with multiple viewing angles, and an entirely new system of vocalization analysis that helps you distinguish songs and calls. As Robert Mortensen of Birding is Fun puts it, “The Warbler Bible has come forth! This is easily the most comprehensive and fantastic warbler specific guide covering North American Warblers. I am amazed and impressed with each of its features. . . . [A] must-have book.”

In the tide of the bird’s natural mating cycle, there’s no book more relevant than Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, Second Editionby Paul J. Baicich & J.O. Harrison. This guide provides a thorough, species-by-species look at the breeding biology of some 670 species of birds in North America. With complete basic information on the breeding cycle of each species, from nest habitat to incubation to nestling period, this book covers perhaps the most fascinating aspects of North American bird life, their reproduction and the care of their young, which are essential elements in the survival of any species.

There’s no better time to gain an understanding of your region’s birds than during this critical spring migration period. Check out any and all of these informative books today!

To celebrate the availability of Princeton University Press’s bird books through the iBooks store, we are hosting a sweepstakes giveaway of all 6 titles. See below for several ways to enter or send an email to blog@press.princeton.edu.

The prize will be 6 promo codes that allow the winner to download complimentary copies of The Crossley ID Guide, The Warbler Guide, The World’s Rarest Birds, Hawks at a Distance, The Birds of Peru, and The Unfeathered Bird. This prize can only be used through the iBooks store and to view these books, you must have an iOS device with iBooks 3 or later and iOS 4.3 or later, or a Mac with iBooks 1.0 or later and OS X 10.9 or later. There is no device or tablet included in this giveaway.

The giveaway will run from 12:15 AM EST, Monday, February 3 through 12:00 PM EST, Friday, February 7.

One of the questions we field most often is, “Why can’t I buy an electronic version of this bird book?” So we are delighted to announce that starting this month, several of our most popular birding and natural history titles are now available as ebooks through the iBooks store.

To view sample pages and explore these titles further, please use these links:

Birds of Peru
This is easily one of our all-time best-selling field guides and this ebook features all of the same great information and illustrations as the print edition, but makes it more portable and easier to search.

The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds
This has always been a book screaming for a digital edition. To say the plates in this book look incredible on a tablet would be a massive understatement– they are absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful.

The Warbler Guide
The complete text, photos, and sonograms at your fingertips in time for spring migration. Keep the print copy at home for reference and take this digital book into the field.

The Unfeathered Bird
Zooming in on the drawings reveals new details about structure, function, and evolution.

Hawks at a Distance
Even more useful now that you can zoom in and examine the profile and silhouette of the birds.

The World’s Rarest Birds
Not only do the photos and illustrations look incredible, but built-in search functions mean it is easier to find the information you want.

Not really, but check out this astounding video of Richard getting roughed up by a Ruffed Grouse.

Here’s what this beauty of a bird looks like in The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds. Seeing the plate side by side with the video really demonstrates the strength of the Crossley style plate in illustrating the way a bird looks and how it acts:

The RSPB is running their annual Big Garden Birdwatch this month. If you are participating in this citizen science event, you might find The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland useful to verify your identifications or prep for a walk. We welcome you to download this free ebook — Common Garden Birds of Britain and Ireland [PDF]. You can store it on your handheld devices or computers. The print edition, featuring more than 300 species is also available in bookstores now.

The American Birding Association just announced its 2014 Bird of the Year will be the Rufous Hummingbird. Check out their announcement below (what a fun video featuring Neil Hayward who has just completed a new record Big Year & Jay Lehman, as well as a cameo by Liz Gordon) and a list of Princeton University Press resources to help you further find and appreciate this beautiful species.

“If you have one or more of those oversized guides to North American birds and want something to carry into the field with you, this would be a good addition to your library.”–Dan R. Kunkle, Wildlife Activist

“[Crossley] has, a la Kenn Kaufman, digitally lifted the birds out of those photos and then dropped them–perched, walking, flying, diving, swimming–into a habitat that is one big photographic background, thus creating a picture window onto each species. Simultaneously we see the species up close, far away, in flight, at a feeder, in flocks, sitting, singing. Scale is up for grabs, with some of the birds so small and hidden that you don’t see them until a second or third look. But the effect is engaging, exciting and akin to the real experience of birding, where so much happens on the wing, at difficult distance and in odd light.”–Laura Jacobs, Wall Street Journal

Revolutionary. This book changes field guide design to make you a better birder

A picture says a thousand words. The most comprehensive guide: 640 stunning scenes created from 10,000 of the author’s photographs

Reality birding. Lifelike in-focus scenes show birds in their habitats, from near and far, and in all plumages and behaviors

Teaching and reference. The first book to accurately portray all the key identification characteristics: size, shape, behavior, probability, and color

“Brian Small and co-author Paul Sterry have taken the photo-based field guide to a new level. Their new books are beautifully designed and well written. Photos are tack-sharp, and tightly cropped, giving close-up views of each bird.”–Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World

The best, most lavishly illustrated photographic guide to the region’s birds

Larger color photos than most other field guides

Fresh contemporary design–clear, easy-to-use, and attractive

Informative, accessible, and authoritative text

Range maps from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Covers entire western half of mainland North America (excluding Mexico) and the arctic and subarctic territorial islands of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Hawaii)

We’re delighted–or rather, happy as a lark–to announce that we’ve drawn the lucky winner of the Crossley Bird ID Contest, featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine, December 2013 issue. Thank you to BBC Wildlife and to all of the keen birders who flocked to submit their entries for a chance to win a copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland by Richard Crossley & Dominic Couzens.

Could you tell a Bullfinch from a Chaffinch? Are you able to spot a Starling? The answers are below!

Jenny pecks the winner out of a bag

Jenny chirps with delight as the winner is selected

Congratulations to Clare Adams from Nottingham who correctly identified all of the featured birds. A copy is “winging” its way to you now!

[This will open a pop up quiz that will collect your answers and contact information]

One winner, drawn at random, will receive a copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland. Participants must be at least 18 years old to enter. Only one entry per person. All entries must be received by January 1, 2014.

Birding Ecosse has a terrific article about the usefulness of The Crossley ID Guides in the field. In spite of birders’ best efforts (calls, silent stalking, binoculars and scopes), this is what they are likely to see in the field when they go looking for scoters. And a quick side-by-side comparison shows how The Crossley ID Guide really does represent these real life fuzzy, distant views.

We are celebrating the publication of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland by giving away 5 autographed copies of the book. There are multiple ways to enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway runs from October 31 to November 22. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the giveaway closing.

The first option, Click for your Daily Entry, does not require you to do anything other than supply your name and email address (no like-ing on social media, etc).

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